In The Spotlight
by FebruaryBabes02
Summary: The next generation don't have to worry about dark wizards and saving the world like their parents. No, their issues are of an entirely different nature. Problems like constantly being splashed across the tabloids, unrequited and star-crossed love and having to live in a shadow are just the beginning. Please read and review. Includes entire cast of next-gen throughout Hogwarts.


**A/N: This is the first chapter of a saga that will encompass the entire next generations time at Hogwarts. If you would like to beta it for me, please PM me. If you have casting suggestions - ie, actresses and actors who you think look like the characters, please tell me in a review! I hope you enjoy it, please read and review!**

**I shall be getting 05 to draw some pics, and they will be posted on deviantART. Please follow on twitter for updates and such. Names is FebBabes 02 (without the spaces!).**

**Also, do any of you have suggestions for great Next-Gen stories to read? FYI, I favour R/S and T/V.**

**That's all for now :) Please enjoy!  
**

* * *

_I'm only up when you're not down_  
_Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground_  
_It's like no matter what I do_

_Well, you drive me crazy half the time_  
_The other half I'm only trying_  
_To let you know that what I feel is true_  
_And I'm only me when I'm with you_

_ I'm Only Me When I'm with You, Taylor Swift_

Date: 16th August 2015

Ted stared out the window of the Burrow, waiting. Victoire was supposed to arrive soon; and Ted had been counting down the hours until she arrived.

Victoire was beautiful, proud, tenacious, opinionated, argumentative; exasperating and patronising at times, but she was Victoire, and even with all her faults, she was his best-friend.

_It's been ages, _he thought, watching the condensation his breath made on the window fade as he stopped talking. _I haven't seen her since she left for France._ He glanced down at the golden watch that had once been his father's. Harry had given it to him on his 17th birthday, and he had treasured it ever since. According to his watch, it was 15 minutes until Victoire was due.

He jumped up and paced the room. _Does 15 minutes always take this long? _he wondered. He had been up and down the room six times when Harry poked his head in.

"You okay Ted?" he asked, worry clouding his vivid green eyes.

"Yeah," said Ted, smiling faintly. "Just impatient."

Harry shook his head, as if he had just realized something obvious.

"Oh," he said. "Victoire, right."

"Shh, Harry!" hushed Ted, his gaze darting to the door that led to the kitchen. "I do _not _want my grandmother or Mrs Weasley to hear!"

"Sorry," whispered Harry sheepishly.

There was silence for a while, Ted kept pacing while Harry entered properly and took a seat on the couch.

"Are you going to tell her?" asked Harry suddenly.

Ted turned to look at his godfather, slightly surprised. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Ted, you've had a crush on her for ages, I would have thought you would have told her by now."

Ted hated that what Harry was saying made sense. _But, _he thought, _when has Harry ever been wrong?_

"Harry, you know that's not an option. We are such close friends, I can't risk losing that," Tec replied, running a hand through his turquoise hair.

"What are you going to do when someone asks her out?" asked Harry gently. "She's part veela; she's going to attract attention."

Ted fidgeted at that, but remained silent, but the look on Ted's face left Harry in no doubt to which direction his thoughts were taking.

"Just a thought, Ted," said Harry as he left the room, leaving Ted to his thoughts.

_Harry's right, _thought Ted, _she's too pretty too not get asked out by someone...and what would I do if she said yes?_

A flash of strawberry-blonde caught his eye, and he darted back to the window to see Victoire walking up the garden path with her younger siblings. Ted let out a whoop of joy before running around to the dusty front door.

Ted opened it and walked out to meet Victoire. Victoire's face lit up at the sight of Ted, blue hair and all, and she skipped towards him before hugging him tightly.

"Hey, Vee," he muttered into her hair, grinning widely as he did so.

"Hi Teddy," replied Victoire, using the childhood nickname that everyone else had dropped. Victoire was the only person who Ted still allowed to use it.

"How was France?" asked Ted, stepping back as Victoire dropped her arms. "Oh, and hi Nik, hi Louis," he said, addressing the two over Victoire's shoulder.

"Hello Ted," replied the twins in sync, before they darted inside.

"France was great!" she said grinning. "My hair's a lot lighter, and it was nice to see Tante Gabrielle as well as Grandmere and Grandpere Delacour."

Ted looked at her hair again, and could see the difference. _It looks more like her mother's now_, he observed.

"Anyway," Victoire continued. "How was England?"

"Same old, same old," Ted replied. "I saw a lot of the Potter's, Lily's been making me colour in pictures with her."

"Aaw," teased Victoire. "Isn't that cute?"

"Shut up," groaned Ted. "It's not that funny."

Victoire raised an eyebrow.

"I beg to differ," she said, attempting to keep her face straight.

"Ted, Vee!" called Mrs Weasley. "Are you coming inside anytime soon?"

"Sure!" called Vee, and grabbing Ted's hand she pulled him through the front door.

They made it to the kitchen, and Victoire dropped Ted's hand to hug her grandmother.

"Hi Nana," she said, hugging her tightly.

"Hello Vee," replied Mrs Weasley. "Are you hungry?" she asked, pulling out of the embrace to open the oven door and retrieve a tray of chocolate-chip cookies.

"Yes!" replied Victoire and Ted at the same time. They both made a beeline for the tray while Mrs Weasley and Mrs Tonks alerted the rest of the grandchildren to the cookies.

The door opened, and both Fred and James ran in holding broomsticks, George following them.

"They will definitely take on the Weasley legacy of beater's," said George to Harry. "They work fantastically together."

"James flies as well as I did when I was 11," said Harry proudly, ruffling his oldest son's hair.

"He's got great genetics on both sides," said Ginny, smiling at James.

Ted had to agree. Last time he'd played with those two they had managed to knock him off his broom. _My back still hurts from that day,_ he thought ruefully, shoving another cookie in his mouth.

The crowd of children had filled the kitchen by then, chattering away loudly, so Ted and Victoire both stepped quietly outside.

"Merlin, they're loud," said Victoire, holding her head. "I'd forgotten just _how_ loud while I was in France."

"Lucky you," replied Ted. "My head hasn't stopped pounding since I got off the Hogwarts Express."

"James, Al and Lily were quite excited to see you, weren't they?" said Victoire grinning.

"Yes," said Ted, remembering their excited shrieks. "How was Nik over there?"

Victoire rolled her eyes.

"Still as stubborn as usual, complained loudly when she wasn't allowed to fly or had to wear a dress."

"Sounds about right," said Ted. "Did she take her broom?"

"What do you think?" asked Victoire. "Of course she did."

"So," said Ted, grinning. "Did you get your letter?"

"Yes!" said Victoire, grinning brightly. "I got prefect!"

"Good job Vee!" cried Ted, hugging her again. "Guess what?"

"You got Head Boy, didn't you?" said Victoire, her smile widening. Ted nodded, beaming.

"Oh Teddy," she cried. "That's fantastic!"

"What's fantastic?" asked Lily, wandering out of the house with cookie crumbs down her front.

"That Teddy's Head Boy," answered Victoire, leaning over to dust the crumbs off Lily's emerald green singlet.

"Yeah," said Lily seriously. "Daddy said that Ted has to be responsible at school now."

"When was I not responsible?" questioned Ted, his face affronted.

"All the time," said Lily, her eyes narrowing. "Daddy said so."

_What has Harry said about me?_

"Oh he did, did he?" replied Ted. "Well you can tell Daddy-" here he broke off as Victoire interrupted.

"Teddy!" warned Victoire.

Ted rolled his eyes at her, and Victoire responded by sticking her tongue out childishly.

"She's only seven!"

"No I'm not," said Lily, scowling at Victoire. "I'm seven and a _half_."

"Sorry Lils," said Victoire in a patronising tone, smiling down at her. "I forgot."

"Well, _remember_!" retorted Lily.

Ted snickered at Lily's expression and response.

"Sorry, Vee," he said when she looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "But a seven year old- sorry – seven and a _half_ year old is getting the better of you."

Victoire rolled her eyes. _Merlin she looks cute when she does that,_ thought Ted, momentarily distracted.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you come out here for something Lily?"

"Yes," answered Lily, pushing a lock of hair out of her brown eyes. "Nana's cutting Molly's cake."

"Well, we had better get inside then, hadn't we, Lils?" said Ted, throwing Victoire an amused look.

"Uh-huh," nodded Lily, before dashing back inside.

Ted and Victoire looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before they both spoke.

_I'm just going to say it, _thought Ted, _Get it over with. What's the worst that can happen?_

"Vee, I-" began Ted, but stopped as Victoire was speaking.

"We should go," she said motioning to the house. "What were you going to say?"

Ted shook his head, his mouth suddenly feeling rather dry.

"Nothing. Let's go."

They walked inside silently, neither knowing what to say to the other. When they reached the back door Tec opened it, motioning for Victoire to go through.

He noticed the slight red creep up on her cheeks. _What did she blush for? _He thought bemusedly.

All thoughts vanished from his head though as he was pulled into the crowded kitchen. Molly was sat on the bench beaming with a paper crown on her head as Mrs Weasley and Percy lit the candles by prodding them with their wands.

When all were lit, Ted started singing with the rest of the large group.

"_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday dear Molly_

_Happy Birthday to you!"_

Percy then led them all with the cheering before Molly was handed the knife to cut the cake. Once she had made the first slice James started yelling.

"You have to kiss the nearest boy!"

Percy laughed and patted his cheek, then hugged his daughter.

"Line up!" called Audrey, who was busy cutting the cake up into slices. "Line up in age order!"

Ted moved his way to the back with Victoire, as all the younger kids swarmed around the cake.

_Merlin, they are loud,_ thought Ted. _Didn't they only just get fed?_

Victoire was obviously thinking along the same lines as Ted as she turned to him with a small smile on her face.

"Didn't they just have cookies?" she asked.

"I believe so," said Ted, shaking his head slightly. He looked over at Lily, who was sitting in the corner with her plate full of chocolate cake. "Lily's going to make herself sick."

Victoire looked over to where Lily was sat. "She's a small kid. They are built to run on sugary rubbish."

"Well then," said Ted. "She's going to drive us all insane later when she's hyper."

"True," said Victoire, nodding her head. "True."

They both moved forward a couple of spaces, only Dominique, Louis and Fred were still in front of them.

Ted was silent for a few moments, until it was only he left in the line, smiling at Audrey as she passed him a plate.

"Thanks," he said, glancing around for Victoire's blonde hair. He couldn't find her, but then she stuck her head in from the back door.

"Come on Teddy!" she called, and Ted hurriedly made his way outside.

Ted and Victoire both walked a little way, before coming to a stop next to two large rocks they often frequented when they visited the Burrow.

Ted sat down on the slightly bigger one, and Victoire took the littler one.

"Looking forward to school?" asked Victoire between bites of cake. "Now that you're Head Boy and all."

Ted paused to think for a moment, chewing absentmindedly. He swallowed.

"I don't really know," he began slowly. "It's a lot of responsibility, and Head Boy besides, I don't know what I want to do with my life once I leave."

"Well," said Victoire. "You can always be-"

"Don't say Auror!" said Ted quickly, interrupting her. "I know what everyone wants me to do, I don't need reminding!"

Victoire looked hurt at his cutting tone and harsh scowl, and Ted immediately felt bad. His face softened.

"Sorry Vee," he apologised quietly. "I didn't mean to yell. It's just, everyone expects me to be one because Mum was and Harry is, but nobody seems to realise that I _don't _want to be an Auror. I don't think I'll get the grades anyway, I'm barely passing Transfiguration and Charms as it is. I'm decent at Defence, but I have to really work at it."

"What _do _you want to do then?" asked Victoire. "You're really good at Potions, and fairly good at Herbology."

"I have to study excessively for both of those," said Ted, reminding her.

It was Victoire's turn to get annoyed. She jumped off her rock, throwing her empty paper plate on the ground.

"Yes Teddy, I get it," she began, her voice hard with anger. "You're crap at everything and you have no natural talent. You may as well drop out now and scrounge off Harry, because you're so crap you'll never pass your NEWTS."

Teddy flinched at her words, and backed away slightly, but she kept going.

"Teddy! You can stop with the whole 'Oh, I'm so rubbish at everything' act, because you and I both know that you are not! You _are _good at Potions and Herbology, and you are fairly good at Defence. End of story. It's now about what you want to do with those!"

Ted stared at her throughout her tirade, stunned.

"So," she said, her voice back to normal. "I'll ask you again, what do you want to do then?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, still sounding slightly shocked.

"Then," said Victoire bossily. "We will both go through some brochures and brainstorm when we get the chance at Hogwarts."

"Okay," agreed Ted, casting his mind around for a way to change the subject. He settled on her recently granted Prefect status.

"What'd Bill say when you got your badge?" he asked.

Victoire smiled brightly.

"He was so pleased; he said if I work hard, I might even get Head Girl!"

Teddy grinned at her enthusiasm. _She looks beautiful when she's happy,_ he thought.

"I reckon you'd be a great Head Girl," he said.

"Thanks," replied Victoire. "What's the bathroom like?"

"Fantastic," answered Ted, "The bath is like a swimming pool, and it has all different times of taps with different stuff in them."

"I can't wait to use it," said Victoire, closing her eyes as she pictured it in her minds-eye.

"It is pretty cool," said Ted. "But having to do rounds is pretty bad."

"Yeah," admitted Victoire. "I'm not looking forward to that either; do me a favour and don't stick me with a Slytherin."

"I won't," promised Ted. "I'm not horrible."

"Completely, anyway," muttered Victoire, teasing him again.

"You take that back!" said Ted. "I can do magic now!"

"Nope," said Victoire, popping the 'p'. "Besides, I could do magic if I really wanted to."

"Yeah," said Ted, who was advancing on her. "But you wouldn't."

"Well, you hope-"

Victoire broke off as Ted leapt on her and started tickling.

"Teddy, stop – it" she managed to choke out, giggling madly.

"Oi!" came a shout from the house. "Are you killing my daughter?"

Ted stood up with his hands raised.

"She started it, I swear!" he said as Bill came into sight.

"Did not," replied Victoire, spitting a bit of her long hair out of her mouth.

"Did," said Ted, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Did not," said Victoire again.

Ted made to speak but Bill spoke first.

"Merlin," he said. "Are you both five?"

They both shook their heads quickly.

"Well c'mon," said Bill. "Charlie's leaving and you should say goodbye."

They followed Bill back to the house.

"Did," mouthed Ted at her as they walked.

"Did not," she mouthed back, sticking her tongue out.

Bill glanced back and rolled his eyes at the pair of them.

He pushed open the door for the teens as they entered, still bickering lightly.

"Bye Uncle Charlie!" called Victoire as she spotted him, running over to give him a hug.

"See you Vee," he responded before turning to Ted. "Bye Ted," he said, before leaving the house to disapparate.

"Ted," said Mrs Tonks as a loud crack sounded outside. "We'll be leaving soon, so make sure you say all your goodbyes."

"Yes Grandma," he said, refraining from rolling his eyes. He turned to Victoire. "C'mon Vee, let's go find everyone."

Victoire laughed. "That's a long task, I'm not sure if I want to."

"Yeah, yeah," said Ted, grabbing her arm. "You're coming."

They hurried around the kitchen, Ted managed to say goodbye to a majority of the crowd.

"Quidditch lot next," said Victoire, and they made their way to the large field that served as a Quidditch pitch.

Dominique, Louis, James and Fred were all flying high, playing two-a-side Quidditch with a single scarlet quaffle, while Lily, Roxanne and Hugo were gliding around on their toy broomsticks.

Harry and George were supervising again, with Rose refereeing, a small whistle hanging proudly around her neck.

Ted and Victoire jogged down, and Victoire watched, smiling as Ted flitted around hugging and saying goodbye to everyone, ruffling Lily's hair as he left.

"Is that everyone?" asked Ted, turning to Victoire, ignoring Lily's angry shrieks.

Victoire's eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"I think so," she said slowly. "Hang on, where's Lucy?"

"Wasn't she in the kitchen?" asked Ted, trying to remember.

"No," said Victoire. "I don't think so."

"Well she'll be reading somewhere, won't she?" asked Ted.

"Teddy!" scolded Victoire lightly, smacking his arm. "She doesn't spend all her time reading! She does other stuff as well."

"Doesn't seem like it," muttered Ted under his breath, massaging his arm.

"But we should probably check the spots near bookshelves," conceded Victoire.

Ted smirked at her.

"I told you so," he said smugly.

"Of course you did," replied Victoire, smiling at him cheekily before skipping ahead.

"I did!" exclaimed Ted indignantly, standing still. "Hey wait a minute," he called after Victoire. "I did! Vee!"

Victoire continued to skip, either oblivious or ignoring him, and Ted ran to catch up, his long legs giving him the advantage.

When he caught up, he pounced on her for the second time that day, sending them both tumbling to the ground, Victoire's bell-like giggles surrounding them.

Ted braced himself, his hands ending up on either side of Victoire, her silky hair fanned out everywhere. He stared down at her face, her bright blue eyes, acutely aware of how close she was, and how their faces were only a few centimetres apart. Ted could count the few pale freckles she had on her nose. Victoire's giggles died abruptly and she stared up at Ted, her expression unfathomable, and her blue eyes mesmerising.

Victoire lifted her head slightly, bringing their faces in even closer. All Ted would have to do was move his own face a centimetre or so. The urge to press his lips against her own rose-pink ones was almost irresistible. _It would be so easy, _he thought, and he licked his dry lips.

He hadn't made his mind up, and the two were still just staring at each other with unrelenting intensity when Harry found them.

Ted hastily scrambled up, holding out one hand to help Victoire up, Victoire smiling awkwardly at him.

Harry raised his eyebrow at Ted, and Ted shook his head to the side slightly, feeling almost humiliated. Victoire gave them both a confused look before dropping Ted's hand and running lightly back inside. Ted gazed after her, an uncomfortable feeling forming in the bottom of his stomach.

"What, Ted," asked Harry, once Victoire had left, "was _that_?"

Ted was still staring after Victoire, watching in fascination as the last of her silky blonde hair whipped inside the back door before it shut.

"I don't know," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't know."


End file.
